I’m really posting for some advice but first let me say an enormous thank you to all the regulars on here. I lurk here daily, and not having an alcohol addiction myself (my addiction is to nicotine!!) I have learnt so much and now have a far greater insight into my sons problem. Your honest accounts and first hand experiences are so much more telling than literature on the subject. I discovered you by trawling the net and my son started TSM about a week ago. He is not interested in the computer so I hope you don’t mind me posting. I have all the knowledge which I gain from you and the book and he just takes the pill. He very much wants to be free of his addiction but I think that he is worried about coping with life without his prop. I am just looking forward to sharing my house with the boy I knew many years ago and not a continual drunk. He never drinks less than 15 US (26UK) units each day, but has a job as a chef and a very good reputation as such in our town. How he does it I really don’t know!

Sorry to ramble - back to my question which is about when to take the pill.

He works split shifts 10-3 and 5.30-9.00
Drinking takes place between 3 - 5.30 and after 9.00.

At the moment he has 50mg at 10am before work so that he can drink as soon as he gets home at 3pm.Ideally he should take a pill to work and take it at 2pm but I don’t trust him to remember and waiting one hour until 4pm is’nt an option at the moment. Most of his drinking takes place after 9pm. He can drink gin like pop!

If he continues to take 50mg at 10am, starts drinking at 3pm and finishes at anything up to 1am is he sufficiently covered or should he take an extra 25mg when he gets home at 3pm. My worry is that it is 5hrs. between taking the 50mg and starting to drink so is not benefiting from the full strength of the pill.

Sorry to be so long winded and Hi to Louise if you’re around. Your post was a mirror image of my situation.

Thanks for cyber listening to me.
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Hi Chris

My understanding is that the 50mg pill stays in the system for about 24 hours, and half a pill for about half that. You can use that as a guide. It is also quite hard to take 'too much' - you'd need to take 6 or 8 times the recommended daily dose, so taking two 50mg tabs would be ok too I think (although obviously a bit more expensive)

I agree with what 1for said. Waiting five hours, the drinking starts just as the nal may be starting to wane a bit. If cost is not an ussue then two doses (or at least a 25 boost in the p.m.) wouldn't hurt and it might help. Hopefully in a few weeks he will start to see results and that will motivate him. You didn't mention his age but the young ones seem to get results more quickly. You said he's not much for the computer; can you print out some posts for him or perhaps highlight some pages in the book?

All the best.